Fracture-Flow-Enhanced Solute Diffusion into Fractured Rock

We propose a new conceptual model of fracture-flow-enhanced matrix diffusion, which correlates with fracture-flow velocity, i.e., matrix diffusion enhancement induced by rapid fluid flow within fractures. According to the boundary-layer or film theory, fracture flow enhanced matrix diffusion may dominate mass-transfer processes at fracture-matrix interfaces, because rapid flow along fractures results in large velocity and concentration gradients at and near fracture-matrix interfaces, enhancing matrix diffusion at matrix surfaces. In this paper, we present a new formulation of the conceptual model for enhanced fracture-matrix diffusion, and its implementation is discussed using existing analytical solutions and numerical models. In addition, we use the enhanced matrix diffusion concept to analyze laboratory experimental results from nonreactive and reactive tracer breakthrough tests, in an effort to validate the new conceptual model

Simulating the impact of glaciations on continental groundwater flow systems: 1. Relevant processes and model formulation

In the recent literature, it has been shown that Pleistocene glaciations had a large impact on North American regional groundwater flow systems. Because of the myriad of complex processes and large spatial scales involved during periods of glaciation, numerical models have become powerful tools to examine how ice sheets control subsurface flow systems. In this paper, the key processes that must be represented in a continental-scale 3-D numerical model of groundwater flow during a glaciation are reviewed, including subglacial infiltration, density-dependent (i.e., high-salinity) groundwater flow, permafrost evolution, isostasy, sea level changes, and ice sheet loading. One-dimensional hydromechanical coupling associated with ice loading and brine generation were included in the numerical model HydroGeoSphere and tested against newly developed exact analytical solutions to verify their implementation. Other processes such as subglacial infiltration, permafrost evolution, and isostasy were explicitly added to HydroGeoSphere. A specified flux constrained by the ice sheet thickness was found to be the most appropriate boundary condition in the subglacial environment. For the permafrost, frozen and unfrozen elements can be selected at every time step with specified hydraulic conductivities. For the isostatic adjustment, the elevations of all the grid nodes in each vertical grid column below the ice sheet are adjusted uniformly to account for the Earth's crust depression and rebound. In a companion paper, the model is applied to the Wisconsinian glaciation over the Canadian landscape in order to illustrate the concepts developed in this paper and to better understand the impact of glaciation on 3-D continental groundwater flow systems

Dynamics of groundwater recharge and seepage over the Canadian landscape during the Wisconsinian glaciation

Pleistocene glaciations and their associated dramatic climatic conditions are suspected to ave had a large impact on the groundwater flow system over the entire North American continent. Because of the myriad of complex flow-related processes involved during a glaciation period, numerical models have become powerful tools for examining groundwater flow system evolution in this context. In this study, a series of key processes pertaining to coupled groundwater flow and glaciation modeling, such as density-dependent (i.e., brine) flow, hydromechanical loading, subglacial infiltration, isostasy, and permafrost development, are included in the numerical model HydroGeoSphere to simulate groundwater flow over the Canadian landscape during the Wisconsinian glaciation (∼ - 120 ka to present). The primary objective is to demonstrate the immense impact of glacial advances and retreats during the Wisconsinian glaciation on the dynamical evolution of groundwater flow systems over the Canadian landscape, including surface-subsurface water exchanges (i.e., recharge and discharge fluxes) in both the subglacial and the periglacial environments. It is shown that much of the infiltration of subglacial meltwater occurs during ice sheet progression and that during ice sheet regression, groundwater mainly exfiltrates on the surface, in both the subglacial and periglacial environments. The average infiltration/ exfiltration fluxes range between 0 and 12 mm/a. Using mixed, ice sheet thickness-dependent boundary conditions for the subglacial environment, it was estimated that 15-70% of the meltwater infiltrated into the subsurface as recharge, with an average of 43%. Considering the volume of meltwater that was generated subsequent to the last glacial maximum, these recharge rates, which are related to the bedrock type and elastic properties, are historically significant and therefore played an immense role in the evolution of groundwater flow system evolution over the Canadian landmass over the last 120 ka. Finally, it is shown that the permafrost extent plays a key role in the distribution of surface-subsurface interaction because the presence of permafrost acts as a barrier for groundwater flow

Fracture-Flow-Enhanced Solute Diffusion into Fractured Rock

We propose a new conceptual model of fracture-flow-enhanced matrix diffusion, which correlates with fracture-flow velocity, i.e., matrix diffusion enhancement induced by rapid fluid flow within fractures. According to the boundary-layer or film theory, fracture flow enhanced matrix diffusion may dominate mass-transfer processes at fracture-matrix interfaces, because rapid flow along fractures results in large velocity and concentration gradients at and near fracture-matrix interfaces, enhancing matrix diffusion at matrix surfaces. In this paper, we present a new formulation of the conceptual model for enhanced fracture-matrix diffusion, and its implementation is discussed using existing analytical solutions and numerical models. In addition, we use the enhanced matrix diffusion concept to analyze laboratory experimental results from nonreactive and reactive tracer breakthrough tests, in an effort to validate the new conceptual model